The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1887-02-26

now and then turning frightened glance
upon the invading soldiers, had resumed
her spinning, and nothing was heard in
the room but the light whirring of the
oliing wheel and the bubbling of the
water in the pot.
HEY alto voraciously, their mouths
spread to their widest extent in an effort
toswallow the more. and their round eyes
opening and shutting with every move
nloiit Of their jaws. The noise they
made in swallowing sounded like the
gargling of water pipe. As they were
thirsty as well as hungry, Berthine at
last descended to the cellar to draw them
some cider. To reach it she was obliged
to pass low vaulted chamber or cave,
slsSl, so they said, during the revolution
a4 prison or place of concealment. You
"a only enter it by a narrow stairway
lsSsling from the floor of the kitchen,
closed by heavy door.
$erthine was gone a long time to draw
the cider, and when she reappeared she
was laughing laughing softly to herself.
Se6n the soldiers had finished their
supper and were nodding around the
table. Every now and then a head
would fall upon the boards with re-
sounding thud.
You can stretch yourselves by the
fire if you like, said the forestiere,
kindly. Mother and will climb to the
upper floor"
A moment later key turned in the
loci overhead-thcre was the sound of
footsteps on the floor, and silence.
With their feet to the fire and their
heads supported upon their knapsacks,
the Prussians were soon snoring loudly.
They had slept perhaps an hour, when
suddenly there was the report of a gun
sha, another and another, loud and
near. They leaped to their feet as the
dof of the stairs leading to the upper
h0f was thrown open and Berthine ap-
pea1ed, bare footed, half clad and wild
with alright
SIT is the FRENCH she cried, sat
Least a hundred of theml For the love
of God, so into the cellar and make no
noise; if you do, we are lostl''
f viii, viii, = the officer stammered,
bewildered and excited, s'but how can we
get aown?''
She lifted the trap in the floor, disclos-
ing the narrow stairs, and the six men
quickly disappeared. When the brim Of
the Last hat had vanished from sight,
Berthine replaced the oaken flap, as thick
as d wall and hard as steel, fastened it
with monstrous bolt and began to
laugh again, to laugh like maniac, as
she softly danced above the heads of her
prisoners shut up in their box of stone,
and las they had promised to be silent as
the tomb, knowing that they were per-
fectly secure and well supplied with air
through vent in the wall guarded by a
strong iron grating, she gave herself no
furtler concern regarding them, but set
about replenishing tho fire and the pot
of soap IN readiness for her fathers re-
IL was not long, however, before she
hoax 81 irrino under her feet and the
sound Of talking. Berthine listened; it
was clear that the Prussians were begin
ming to suspect the ruse and would soon
demand release. She was not mistaken,
for a moment later some one stumbled
up the winding stairs and began to beat
upon the trap with his fists. "Open to
toor; open it, sayl'' shouted the voice
of the officer, ssor I'll preak it in!'
sPreak it in, my good man." Berthine
answered tauntingly, mimicking his
broken accent; s'preak it in, by all
meansl'' But the effort was useless; their
fists, the butt ends of their muskets and
all their kicks and poundings were pow
erless to release them; that door was stout
enough to have defed a catapult. Con-
WINGED of this at last, they again descended
and once more all was silence, broken
only by the ticking of the clock on the
manteI shelf. AS the hands pointed to
the midnight hour a distant baying was
heard in the forest and the young woman
arose and opened the door. The figures
of a man and the two enormous dogs
were approaching across the snow.
do not pass before the vent hole,
father, said she, as soon as he was near
enough to hear her; s'there are Prussians
in the cellar"
ssPrussians in the cellar!' Nicholas
Pichon replied astounded. .'Prussians in
the cellar! What are they doing in the
cellar, child? Tell me, quick
'sThey are the same you saw yester-
day" she responded. ssThey were in
the forest and are in the cellar now be-
cause I put them there, and she pro-
ceeded to tell him how she had frightened
them by firing off the old revolver and
then, through fear, Gagged them in the
unused prison hole.
AS soon as you have eaten, father"
she continued, s'you must return and
bring the major commandant and the
troops; he will be very happy to receive
the prisoners. "
The old man agreed, and taking his
seat at the table eagerly consumed his
soup while Berthine attended to the dogs.
and twenty minutes from the time of
their arrival they were on their way back
to Rethel, the forestiere waiting alone.
The prisoners had once more COM
menced their uproar, cursing, shouting
and beating their guns against the walls
of the prison hole. At last they began to
fire through the grating, doubtless hoping
to attract the attention of some passing
detachment which might chance to be In
the neighborhood. Berthine paid no at
tention to the noise, however, save to
caution her mother to remain in her
chamber; but wicked anger took pos
session of her and she would cheerfully
have murdered them, if only to keep
them quiet
Her father had now been gone an hour
and half. Surely he had reached the
city and the troops were on the way.
She pictured to herself the air of pride
with which he related the affair to the
commandant, all fire and excitement as
he called for his sword and uniform.
She even fancied that she heard the
drums as they rolled through the streets,
calling the citizens to the cold and bitter
march in the snow. Surely another hour
would see them here, the prisoners taken
and the troops tiumphantly returning to
the city.
Bat how long it seemed; how the hours
dragged, and the hands Of the clock fairly
crawled around the dali Nevertheless,
the moment for their return came at last.
Berthine got up from her seat and threw
open the door. Out upon the white car
pet of the forest dark object was stealth
ily crawling towards her. She was
alarmed and called out: Father, is it
thou?'s
Yes, 7, he returned; Il am sent in
advance to see If anything has changed
since my departure. 2